Between Be Fruitful and Multiply Comes Marriage

This blog series explains from the Bible why the True Parents’ marriage Blessing is the only way to achieve God’s ideal of marriage and family. It all starts in Genesis.

In Genesis 1, God blessed the man and woman to be fruitful, multiply and have dominion. We need to be clear about the meaning of “be fruitful” and “multiply.”

Fruitful is a tree. Multiply is an orchard.

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“Fruitful” is Adam and Eve reaching maturity, mind-body oneness with God. Psalm 1 tell us the blessed one “is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.”

“Multiply” is Adam and Eve having children. Malachi 2 tells us that God established marriage for the sake of godly offspring.

Multiplying godly offspring means creating a blessed lineage. God blessed Adam and Eve’s lineage just as He blessed Abraham andhis seed, and the fruit of Mary’s womb. Adam and Eve’s multiplication was to have been God’s multiplication and, as Paul and John taught, God’s imperishable seed, God’s lineage, was to have multiplied forever in people who cannot sin.

Now, all of this was God’s creative work, His 95% portion of responsibility, recorded in Genesis 1. Adam and Eve’s work as co-creators, their 5% portion of responsibility, is recorded in Genesis 2.

Between Genesis 1’s “be fruitful” and “multiply” comes Genesis 2’s marriage: “The man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Preparation for marriage was Adam and Eve’s responsibility, so it comes in Genesis 2.

Their preparation required obedience to the Genesis 2 commandment, “do not eat.” “Do not eat” means to be sexually abstinent until achieving oneness with God. This is the preparation to receive God’s Blessing of marriage.

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Deuteronomy says that if we obey God’s commandments, the fruit of the womb will be blessed. This purpose of creation is predestined to succeed based on the fulfillment of human responsibility.

The beginning of Genesis reveals that Adam and Eve, and their family, had three essential responsibilities. These three responsibilities define the ideal of creation, the providence for God to send the Messiah and his Bride, and the path for each of us to receive them in the Holy Marriage Blessing.

We’ll explain these three responsibilities on Wednesday.

(References: Gen 1:28; Mal 2:15; Psalms 1:1-3; Gal 3:16; Luke 1:42-45; 1 John 3:19, 1 Peter 1:23; Gen 2:24, 2:17; Deut 7:13, 28:1, 4; Ch. 6, “Predestination.”)

-TH